As we prepare for the kick-off of the 2013 Six Nations, here’s an of A-Z of the world’s best oval ball competition to get you dusting off your daffodil hat…

In Gavin Hastings’ words it’s the tournament that “gives people a reason for living in the winter”.

It’s been with us since 1883. And while the World Cup, the Rugby Championship and the Heineken Cup all have their merits when it comes to heritage, support and the sheer European brotherhood of rugby nothing quite matches the Six Nations.

So as we prepare for the 2013 kick-off, here’s an of A-Z of the world’s best oval ball competition to get you dusting off your daffodil hat…

A is for Autumn internationals. Erase them from your mind. Don’t think we’re entering the Six Nations off the back of seven defeats – just remember we’re defending champions.

B is for Butler and Brian. It used to be for Bill as in McLaren, the metaphor magician and simile sorcerer. But now the essential soundtrack is provided by Eddie and Moore. They couldn’t be more different. Eddie’s prose is as purple as a poet’s while Pitbull uses words like “brainfart”. Yet like George and Mildred, their dysfunctional marriage is at the heart of their appeal.

C is for Cockerel. Not many sporting contests involve the smuggling of live poultry into stadiums but on match day Merlot-swigging French fans give coq au vin a whole new meaning. Not to be undone the Welsh provide a goat – Siencyn III, who is apparently partial to the odd sip of Brains.

D is for Dive. Something that should really be left to Tom Daley but thanks to Chris Ashton’s extravagant ball-grounding shenanigans it has made unwelcome appearances in the tournament. Maybe 2013 will be the year the England wing spills the ball in mid flight. We live in hope.

E is for Eligibility. We call it the Six Nations but there are myriad countries involved these days and you don’t always have to be from one to play for one – especially if you’re running out of second rows. Bristol-born lock Olly Kohn is currently thanking his Welsh granddad for a surprise call-up while Andries Pretorius assures us he won’t be going back to his native South Africa now he’s a born-again Taff.

F is for Favourites. England or France are always given the nod from the bookies. Much as it pains me to admit it, Stuart Lancaster’s men in white are in pole position because they beat the men in black… even if the latter did have novovirus. How jammy was that.

G is for Grand Slam. Such a beautiful and simple concept. You beat every other team and you win the trophy. So let’s not have a bonus point system that could potentially put a Grand Slam team in second place.

H is for Howley. As a scrum half he sniped out of the trickiest situations. As a coach he has the biggest test of his career to date – escaping the shadow of Gatland and proving the Kiwi who steered Wales to two Grand Slams is not indispensable.

I is for Ireland. Wales can’t look any further than next Saturday’s clash with our Celtic cousin. Win and they’ve got their mojo back and momentum to take on the road. Lose and they’ve got eight defeats behind them and three difficult away games ahead of them.

J is for Jamie. Wales’s big man in the middle dragged his patch-up body through the autumn like a wounded soldier. But fit, fresh and in form, the trainee medic could be just what the doctor ordered to spark Wales’s defence of the championship.

K is for Kick-off times. Thank you schedulers for not making us play France on a Friday at nine’o’clock at night. We might just get back to the middle of Paris for last orders for the first time in four years.

L is for Lions Year. The prospect of a combined home nations summer crusade to the Southern Hemisphere always gives an added frisson to the Six Nations as players strive to put themselves in the shop window.

M is for Mind Games. Now that Scott Johnson has joined the Six Nations coaching club at the helm of Scotland, look out for the usual mischief from the Aussie maverick. Dippydoo has already expressed his sympathy for England’s injury problems: “That just leaves them with another 40,000 players to pick from doesn’t it?”

N is for Nigel Owens. Whether witty with the whistle – “this is not soccer” – or joking on Jonathan, the best Welsh ref adds character to the clash of northern hemisphere nations.

O is for Outside Half. Church or chapel? Steady or silky? Hooky or Biggar? With Priestland out of the picture, 2013 will bring a whole new chapter to the epic saga of the Welsh Outside Half Debate. At least with Halfpenny on kicking duties there’s one less thing for the occupant of Number 10 to worry about.

P is for Pascal Pape. The French skipper leads the one Six Nations team to boast a 100 per cent record in the autumn into the tournament. No wonder many pundits are predicting Pape will be popping the champers come March 16th.

Q is for Quinnells. Arguably the greatest Five and Six Nations dynasty. Who can forget Derek barging the copper out of the way to make his international debut against France in 1972 while Serge Betsen rates his best Six Nations memory as facing Derek’s boys Scott and Craig in 2002: “Wow, they were big lads — so hard to stop.”

R is for Rome Trip. Still the only chance many women get of joining their other halves on tour. For as one disgruntled Welsh fan once told me over a cappuccino in St Peter’s Square – “You can’t tell your wife you’re off to Rome for the weekend and expect her to stay at home can you?”

S is for Scottish Trip. My favourite leg of the Six Nations odyssey. From the pipers on the roof of Murrayfield to the number of pubs you encounter on the way there from Princes Street, it’s the quintessential rugby weekend.

T is for Trail. The pressure for BBC Wales to come up with something clever and quirky every year to promote its Six Nations coverage must be immense. But fair play, they’ve done it again with the parable of the little boy who has only ever known glory while the rest of us remember that 27 year wait for a Grand Slam.

U is for Unpredictable. The tournament always creates a tale of the unexpected. Perhaps most dramatically in 2010, when Wales achieved the greatest last minute comeback ever against Scotland on a weekend that also saw Derek Brockway coping with a live kilt-lifting incident on Wales Today and Andy Powell taking a golf buggy down the M4 in search of a full Welsh breakfast.

W is for the Women’s Six Nations. It’s something of a new era for Welsh women’s rugby as seven uncapped players are named in the 2013 squad. Give them your support at their home base of Aberavon. As ever England are the team to beat.

X is for X Factor. Wales isn’t short of powerful, direct, hard-running backs but have lacked a certain Shane-style sparkle of late. Uncapped wing Eli Walker has showed his game-breaking talents for the Ospreys. Could a Six Nations cameo bring them to the international stage?

Y is for Youth. Sure, there'll be no shortage of grizzled back-rows and gnarly locks, but look more carefully, and there's a new generation bursting through: Joe Launchbury, Stuart Hogg, Chris Henry, Simon Zebo and Brice Dulin to name but a few.

Z is for Zero…as in the chances several experts are giving Wales of retaining their Six Nations title. Yes we’ve got injury woes, a Wallaby whitewash and a dismal autumn behind us. Not to mention the toughest of tournament schedules, with home games framing a trio on the road. But we’re still the team that has three Grand Slams in eight years to its name. So come on Wales, in the finest rugby tournament on the planet give us the best possible reason for living in the winter.

WalesOnline is part of Media Wales, publisher of the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the seven Celtic weekly titles, offering you unique access to our audience across Wales online and in print.